Approximately one percent of UK adults have voluntarily restricted themselves from accessing gambling sites, disclosed the departing head of Gamstop.
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🚀 Gamstop's chair, Jenny Watson, bids farewell, praising monumental achievements 🚀
Jenny Watson, CBE, the long-serving chair of Gamstop, recently penned a heartfelt goodbye for the industry scheme's annual report. In the report, she reflects on critical trends in responsible gaming and problem gambling.
Jenny Watson: A seasoned Gamstop insider
Appointed Chair in 2018 and set to step down in September, Watson describes the organization's journey as simply "mind-blowing" - transforming from a fledgling initiative into a cornerstone of the gambling industry. Watson highlights the strides made in implementing necessary safeguards for consumers, ensuring their safety.
Watson commends the significant number of at-risk gamblers who have enrolled with Gamstop to self-exclude from licensed sites. Since its inception in 2018, over half a million people have registered with the organization, constituting 1% of the UK adult population. This figure reflects the widespread impact and the reliability of Gamstop as a tool for managing gambling behavior.
"We've made significant strides in our mission to shield people from gambling addiction, positively touching hundreds of thousands of lives," Watson underscores in the report.
The success, Watson contends, isn't merely about the registration numbers, but the life-altering impact Gamstop has had on countless individuals.
"Throughout the years, we've heard countless stories from consumers who credit GAMSTOP with giving them back control over their lives," she adds. Watson, however, believes Gamstop transcends being a local success story and is coveted as a globally-recognized technology leader within the gambling harm support sector.
Watson boasts the efficiency of the program, noting that, according to an audit in 2024, 75% of registered users have ceased gambling, with an additional 78% verifying their expectations met.
The search for a new chair is on
With Watson's departure imminent, Gamstop has posted a job listing on Starfish Search, a recruitment platform. Potential candidates must maintain a complete military-grade independence from the gambling industry to preserve the organization's ethics and public trust.
"Our incoming chair will join us at an exciting time of expansion and development for GAMSTOP Group, as the sector undergoes major change," the job posting read.
As the UK pushes ahead with reforms for its RET (Research, Education, and Treatment) funding framework, Gamstop is well-poised to scale up operations thanks to the UK government's decision to impose a statutory levy on gambling operators' gross gaming yield. This revenue will be allocated for research and harm-prevention, with Gamstop being a likely recipient.
📸 Image credit: Unsplash.com
Enrichment Data (Integrated sparingly):
- Current information suggests that Watson's successor has yet to be announced (September 2025).
- The incoming chair is expected to focus on maintaining independence from the industry and carrying on the organization's mission of expanding self-exclusion reach, utilizing data to inform gambling harm reduction strategies within the evolving regulatory landscape.
- The UK government's decision to implement a statutory levy will likely provide Gamstop with ample resources to expand its harm-prevention initiatives.
- Jenny Watson, during her tenure as the chair of Gamstop, has been instrumental in shielding people from gambling addiction, transforming the organization from a fledgling initiative into a cornerstone of the gambling industry.
- In the annual report, Watson emphasized the life-altering impact Gamstop has had on countless individuals, with over half a million people registering to self-exclude from licensed sites since its inception in 2018.
- As the search for a new chair is underway, the incoming candidate must maintain military-grade independence from the gambling industry to preserve the organization's ethics and public trust.
- With the UK government's decision to impose a statutory levy on gambling operators' gross gaming yield, Gamstop is well-positioned to scale up operations, focusing on expanding self-exclusion reach and utilizing data to inform gambling harm reduction strategies in the evolving regulatory landscape.
- The gambling industry is undergoing major changes, and the incoming chair will join Gamstop at an exciting time, as they strive to safeguard casino-and-gambling activities such as casino-games, lotteries, and responsible-gambling, ensuring the success and global recognition of the organization continues.
